No More Yucky Coating! (pics)

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Sep 1, 2002
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Well heres what Ive done so far, including steps with pics for any other beginners out there.

PS. any real knife-maker/customizer person feel free to drop advice as well.

The 5/16" SHSH as I got it from Eric :D
1coated.jpg


First I bought Klean Strip brand Strip-X at Walmart ($4). You need a plastic scraper like a putty knife and a cheap paint brush. I found that if you apply the Strip-X with the brush by 'dabbing' it on instead of brushing it, it leaves more on thus it wont evaporate and leave spots that are uncoated. Leave the Strip-X on for about 30 min. then begin scraping.
1scraping.jpg


Here it is after both sides have been totally scraped free of the coating. To get the inside of both holes after they had soaked in Strip-X, I tore a small strip off a Scotch-Brite pad, rolled it up and twisted it back and forth till all coating was gone. Also, only apply Strip-X to one side at a time to leave it facing up so it doesn't run.
1all_scraped.jpg


Lastly (so far) I went over everything with 220 grit sandpaper until it started to look somewhat cleaned up.
1sanded.jpg


Both the SHSH and SHBA together in middle of there sanding job. I still have a good bit of sanding to do but I'm liking how they are turning out so far.
1both_sanded.jpg
 
Cool! Looks like you're doing good work. Thanks for the pics and please keep us posted
 
Oh ya, forgot to mention that with Strip-X you dont have to worry about it hurting the Micarta. I was somewhat concerned at first, but after I seen that it wasn't affecting the micarta at all (tested on a piece of micarta I had lying around) I loaded it up on the blade all the way to the handle.
 
Cool! I like the look of the uncoated blades. Especially the texture of the unground infi with that dimpled look.

Wet
 
Originally posted by mogmz
Oh ya, forgot to mention that with Strip-X you dont have to worry about it hurting the Micarta. I was somewhat concerned at first, but after I seen that it wasn't affecting the micarta at all (tested on a piece of micarta I had lying around) I loaded it up on the blade all the way to the handle.

Any idea if it would be okay on Resiprene C? Does it wanr against using on plastics?
 
Great Job,

I have a question,
when sanding do you sand the length of the blade(meaning handle to tip) or do you sand the width(meaning spine to edge).
Ive been wanting to do this with my Battle Mistress.
 
Steven: I'm not sure how it would affect Resiprene C handles, but it does state that it can damage plastics on the container.

FEATHERSTONE: I sand with the length of the blade because- 1. Its alot faster, and easier to keep the finish uniform. 2. When taking a knife in and out of the sheath, small rub marks will show alot less being they are going with the blade as well.

As a side note. When I removed the coating I found that whatever means Busse used to finish the blade before it was coated, left 'lines' that run from spine to edge. On my SH and BA they were fairly deep. I moved down to 100 grit sandpaper to remove them by hand, but I still have a bit more sanding to do before all signs of the lines are removed.
 
Great pics! I'm anti-coating myself. I've stripped two Swamp Rats and an Anaconda. Those Busse's look great.
 
Eric,

I have a 'user' SH SH that will be here in a week or so that is a great candidate for this treatment. Now all I need is a user SH BA. I have a minty one;),but it's a little too perfect to strip. Perhaps some forumite has a scruffy SH BA they can live without.:D :D I'll keep watching the Exchange for one. Really looks cool.

Wet
 
Thanks for posting the pictures and description of the process! Now I need to go shopping tomorrow and get to work on a couple of my own :)
 
Just about when they all but stopped putting teak on boats it appears as though there is now a new manual labor fetish to be a slave to.:rolleyes: But, much like well cared for teak, those naked Busses don't look bad at all.
 
I did my BA3 today. I followed mogmz's directions. It worked great however I might add a few suggestions. First, use a metal scraper not plastic. The stripper started to eat into my plastic scraper after about 20 seconds. It quickly became too soft to scrape. Second, be careful with this stuff! It ate through several layers of plastic gloves. It started to burn my finger tips (while I was scraping) and I practicaly had to run to rinse of my fingers. Third, be prepared for about 2 1/2 hours of sanding! Other than that I am very happy. This knife is going to work as a utility/kitchen knife.
 
lol Matteo Escobar, I guess I should have mentioned that you are supposed to use plastic scraper & gloves that specifically say For Paint Stripping as they are not affected by the stripper ;)
 
send em to Skunk and get him to do one of his beadblast jobs on them...thats what I plan on doing with my A2 BBSH, BA and MS...

Nice job!
 
You folks that are thinking about using, or are using the paint stripper, be VERY careful with that stuff. I went to buy some of that stripper, and EVERY single can of it had a warning that said: WARNING, contains additives are are proven to cause cancer and birth defects. Not may cause, but are proven to cause. :eek:
 
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